Effects of Cooling Micrografts in Hair Transplantation Surgery

Abstract

Although, at present, it is generally assumed that lowering the metabolism of grafts by reducing their temperature may be of some utility for enhancing their survival rate, our data indicate of that there are no effects when performing hair transplantation surgery.

Enhancement of In Vitro Hair Shaft Elongation in Follicles Stored in Buffers That Prevent Follicle Cell Apoptosis

“…To evaluate the effects of different storage media supplemented with inhibitors of ACD, micrografts were stored for 5 hours at room temperature in the test media at atmospheric conditions. After storage, micrografts were cultured in standard human hair follicle culture media 2–4 containing 10% fetal calf serum (Sigma‐Aldrich Co.) for 5 days at 37°C in a 5% CO 2 atmosphere. HSE was measured after 5 days using an invert microscope.…”

“…For each experiment, ACD was analyzed in 10 micrografts immediately after storage in the different storage solutions, after culture of the stored micrografts for 4 hours in serum‐containing medium, and after culture for 36 hours. Before the assay, the hair shaft was removed, and the remaining follicles were cut in pieces of approximately 2 mm 3 and lysed in cell lysis buffer. Total apoptotic changes were evaluated according to manufacturer's instructions.…”

“…To enhance the survival of the transplant, studies on temperature conditions have been performed, suggesting a beneficial effect on transplant survival at 4°C 1,2 . However, a more recent study reports no differences in transplant survival between 4°C and 26°C in commonly used salt solution as storage medium 3 . Studies on media composition revealed only minor differences on graft survival at 4°C, showing similar survival rates in standard media (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium [DMEM], RPMI 1640) compared with Hank's balanced salt solution 1 .…”

Review of factors affecting the growth and survival of follicular grafts

“…There was no significant difference in survival of the grafts after 5 h of storage followed by hair shaft elongation studies. [38] Hwang performed a similar but larger study, storing the chilled and RT grafts for 6, 24 and 48 h before hair shaft elongation evaluation. Survival was similar through 6 h but dropped off dramatically at 24 and 48 h.[39]…”

Induction of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression in Stored Micrografts by Aminoguanidine

“…HIGH VIABILITY of the hair follicle (HF) graft during hair restoration surgery is essential for survival of the transplant and determines the clinical outcome of the procedure. To enhance the viability of stored grafts, studies on temperature conditions, nutrient supply to the cells, and inhibition of toxic radicals have been performed 1–4 . Recently, we demonstrated apoptotic cell death in stored grafts and the improvement in follicle cell viability by inhibitors of apoptosis 5 …”